The balky back that's forcing him to miss next week's Masters is surely the death knell in his quest for Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major championships. He's 38 going on 50, his body more broken down than a jalopy with a rebuilt knee, a patched together Achilles and now a back that bears the signature of a surgeon. No way he matches the Golden Bear, let alone passes him.

Just remember that this is Tiger Woods, a man whose competitive fire runs hotter than that of any blast furnace. For all that's ailed him, he's got one body part still intact, and it's the most important one: His mind.

Missing the Masters, his favorite tournament, will fuel him like nothing else, and he'll come back from this latest surgery more determined than ever to break Nicklaus' record. If you're foolish enough to think otherwise, just look at how he ended Tuesday's announcement.

"There are a couple [of] records by two outstanding individuals and players that I hope one day to break," he said in a statement. "As I've said many times, Sam (Snead) and Jack reached their milestones over an entire career. I plan to have a lot of years left in mine."

That's not a closing, that's a warning shot.

Having to skip the Masters is probably more painful for Woods than any of his injuries. But he's realized that he must sacrifice now if he's to achieve the ultimate prize, the one that's driven him since he tacked a poster of Nicklaus' major titles up in his childhood bedroom.

Could he have played Augusta with a balky back, maybe even contended? Sure. Fred Couples is proof of that.

But Woods is looking long term, at Nos. 15, 16, 17 and 18, in particular. And I don't mean the back nine.

Yes, it will be six years since he won his last major at the U.S. Open. That's twice as long as the drought he went through when he was remaking his swing the first time. And no, he's not the same as he was in 2000 and 2001, when he held all four major titles at once in the "Tiger Slam."

But he's not some washed-up hack looking for a "Tin Cup" moment. He won five times on the PGA Tour last year, including The Players Championship, and was named Player of the Year. He was fourth at the Masters and sixth at the British Open.

VIDEO: PLAYERS REACT

As he's fond of reminding everyone, he's not that far from putting the latest version of his swing together. When he does, and a healthy back can only help that, he's got another five or six years in which he can make a serious run at Nicklaus.

Nicklaus, didn't win his 15th major until he was 38, remember, and he won two the year he turned 40. Phil Mickelson was two months shy of his 40th birthday when he won his third Masters, and added the British Open when he was 43, three years after he announced he had psoriatic arthritis.

Woods, even with his injuries, is in better shape than either of them was. Better shape than anyone on the tour today, too. Woods has always been a workout fanatic, and never moreso than when he's coming back from a significant injury. If the doctors tell him he can begin rehab in a week, you can bet he'll be in the gym after six days, 23 hours and 59 minutes, glaring at the clock.

"It's tough right now, but I'm absolutely optimistic about the future," Woods said.

For all the talent there is on the tour, there's no one equal to a dialed-in and healthy Woods. Not Mickelson, not Rory McIlroy, not Rickie Fowler and certainly not Sergio Garcia.

So go ahead, doubt him at your own peril. Because a pinched nerve – or any other aching body part – is no match for the chip he's going to have on his shoulder.

Tiger Woods announced Tuesday that he has had microdiskectomy surgery on his back and will miss the Masters next week. The minimally invasive surgery is designed to relieve pressure on a pinched nerve. The pressure can cause pain and numbness in an individual's extremities.